Monday, November 5, 2012

Humiston Sisters' Reunion Part I

On October 15, 2012, all three of my sisters and my cute nephew and niece landed in Washington to spend a week cramming in as much fun as possible. Of course, coming from different time zones with babies is always an unpredictable business. Remember those days before babies used to wake us up at all hours, when we used to be able to nap when we wanted? Me neither.
Jared was ecstatic about his cousins and aunts arriving. He spent the whole week before their visit asking about which cousins were coming. He was shocked to learn that he doesn't share both sets of grandparents with all of his cousins. When the day finally arrived, he was so excited that Aaron was here that we moved their carseats into the same row of the car so that they could travel together. A couple of hours later, when we picked up Annika, Maren, and Faith from the airport, this was Jared's reaction. "Mommy! Is that Aunt Faith?! AUNT FAITH!! It is! Aunt FAITH!!! Aunt FAITH!! Aunt Faith is here!" Eloise was excited to watch airplanes at the airport, but she wasn't sure what to think about all of the people descending into her house. We spent Monday catching up and enjoying the suitcase full of presents that Cheyenne brought for us. Thanks for the blanket for the new baby, Mom! It is really cute.
Our first outing was on Tuesday, October 16. We went to the zoo. This was Maren's first zoo trip. It was probably her first time riding a hippo, too.

Do you love the animal hats that Cheyenne made? Poor Faith had to carry our food around all week, since she didn't already have a diaper bag. I'm really glad she decided to spend her fall break with us, instead of her new husband, Jorge. I hope she didn't spend the week feeling like the babysitter.

I think our zoo has a terrible enclosure for the elephants. They can make themselves really hard to see. I had to document this rare instance of us actually seeing an elephant that wasn't already in the elephant barn for a bath.

Anni and Maren tried out my ergo carrier and fell in love, as anyone who has ever used it does. Maren will smile for anyone.

Aaron discovered that he had a lot in common with this siamang. They both like to look at other little monkeys, and they both like to eat corn. Eloise, once again, was terrified that the siamang wanted to eat Aaron, or something. She screamed and cried as long as she could see it this close to the glass.

Jared Knight, penguin whisperer.

The highlight of this zoo trip, for my kids, was the carousel ride. We have never actually gone on the carousel because I have never had the right change. We promised Jared and Eloise that they could ride it when their cousins were here. They were really really really excited. Did I mention that they were excited?

When the time came to actually mount the painted steeds, Aaron was the only little chevalier who didn't loose his nerve.

I foresaw Eloise not loving riding as much as watching, and put her on a stationary horse. This was a good call.

The worst part for Jared was the anticipation. If only his horse hadn't started out so high, he might not have been so nervous. When the ride started moving, he had a great time. This little smile is kind of forced. It's a good thing Aunt Faith was there.

Maren, as you can see, was also a bit apprehensive.

After we survived the carousel, we had a late lunch picnic, and then headed home as fast as our weary legs could get us to the car. I don't know who was more tired between the children and the adults.

That afternoon, we decorated Halloween cookies and had a family home evening. Then, after all of the other kids were in bed, Cheyenne and I took Aaron to urgent care. He had started on the trip congested, but by Tuesday evening it was clear that the poor boy couldn't breathe. Every six hours or so for the rest of his visit, Aaron had a breathing treatment.
Jared thought this, along with everything else about Aaron, was the pinnacle of coolness. Enforced video watching? Check. Pretending to be a cyborg? Check.

Getting to wear a mask with a fish face on it? Check. Hanging with his cousin who is also interested in yucky things? Check.

With the breathing treatments, Aaron was able to function more or less normally for the rest of the week, and even started sleeping a little bit better, which meant a lot to a very exhausted Cheyenne.